Against All Odds
by Suhupow
Summary: When Shawn is gravely injured it's up to Juliet and Lassiter to find out who did it before it's too late.


"Why Spencer?" The question broke the heavy silence that had permeated the car for the past half-hour. Juliet sighed. She knew Carlton was going to ask her that question sooner or later. She was rather hoping it would be later but that was before she and Shawn had been caught in a heated lip-locking session in interrogation room three over two weeks ago. Even the 20 minute lecture from the Chief hadn't been nearly as awkward as Carlton had been around her. The way he went out of his way to avoid her had Juliet thinking she was carrying some contagious disease. The 8 hour long stake-outs they had started last night only served to amplify the uncomfortableness. But God if that silence didn't look appealing now. Discussing her love life with Carlton Lassiter was somewhere between "when hell freezes over" and "over my dead body" on her to-do list. But the question had been asked and Carlton was expecting an answer. Juliet sifted in her seat and looked over at her partner.

"He makes me laugh even when that's the last thing in the world that I feel like doing." Even as the answer left her mouth Juliet knew it was the wrong one.

"That's it? God O'Hara! That's the reason you're dating that monkey?" Okay now that was just uncalled for.

"Honestly Carlton I don't really care what you think. You don't have the best record when it comes to relationships anyway." Oh God...had she said that out-loud? The prolonged silence must have taken away her ability to speak. Or maybe this was her subconscious way of getting back at Lassiter for taking the last sprinkle doughnut. She should really apologize; unless she wanted to spend the next two weeks receiving the cold shoulder from her partner. "Carl-

"I just don't want to see you get hurt." Uh. He usually wasn't that honest with her unless he had a scotch or two in his system first. It was actually touching. Juliet felt her previous feelings of hostility start to vanish; she was still kinda pissed about the doughnut though.

"You realize that I'm a grown women and completely capable of taking care of myself right?" Her eyes must be playing tricks on her because it almost looked like Carlton was pouting. "And if for some reason Shawn screws up and does something stupid then you have my permission to arrest him." Not that she'd ever live up to that agreement of course. But it made Carlton happy which meant that she no longer had to contemplate ramming her head through the car window just to get some kind of response out of him. Realizing that the expression of pure joy on his face meant Carlton was imagining what it would be like to throw Shawn in a cell, Juliet turned towards the window and scanned the area for any signs of the drug deal that was supposed to go down soon.

The headlights of a car lit up the night and brought the detectives out of the wanderings. They tensed, years of training ready to kick in at a moments notice, as they watched the older model Toyota drive over to the docks. Even if it wasn't their drug dealer it had to be something, after all no sane person would be down by the marina at this time of the night. Juliet doubled checked her service weapon, just in case. She could feel the adrenaline spread through her body as her heart sped up. She wasn't scared, she was a cop after all, but god was she excited. It had been far too long since Juliet had seen this kind of action and she was really looking forward to busting some morons. Juliet winced. She was starting to sound too much like Carlton. Maybe she should think about a vacation. The image of Shawn climbing out of a pool in just his swim trunks flashed through her mind before she could stop it. The sound of car doors slamming closed brought Juliet back to the present. She and Carlton watched as the two men who were occupying the car walked around to its trunk. Fully expecting them to open the trunk and pull out a suitcase of money, or something equally as incriminating, the detectives were shocked as the men started to push to car towards the water. Realizing what was going on, Juliet and Carlton jumped out of their car and made their way over to the two men.

"SBPD FREEZE!!" Carlton's shout came just as the Toyota rolled off of the pier and into the water. The two men spun around reaching for the guns in the jacket pockets. They barely had time to blink as Juliet and Lassiter fired their round simultaneously. Both bullets hit their targets as the two men fell limply to the ground. Before she could catch her breath, Juliet watched as Carlton took off towards the water, stopping only to make sure both men were incapable of fighting back. It wasn't until he dove into the water that Juliet realized what Carlton was doing. He thought there was someone still in the car. It was likely that the person was probably already long gone but they had to check. Anxiously waiting for Carlton to resurface, Juliet quickly radioed in for back-up and an ambulance. Her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. She watched as Carlton came back up sputtering and spitting out the mouth full of water he had managed to collect.

"There was nothing in the car. I'm going back down to check the trunk." And like that Carlton was back below the murky surface leaving Juliet to watch and wait.

Carlton propelled himself to where the car now rested at the bottom of the marina. The dark water pressing in on him only caused his irrational fear of drowning to reach new levels. Perhaps it had something to do with the summer before 6th grade when he got tangled in some old fishing line at the bottom of a lake. He'd made it back up to the surface of course, but not without going for almost 2 minutes without air and truly believing he was going to die. Carlton shook his head; these thoughts where not helping him right now. Reaching the car, Carlton pulled out the keys he had snagged from its ignition during his first trip down. He had to work fast now, he could already feel his lungs start to burn from the lack of oxygen. Jamming the keys into the trunk, Carlton flung the lid open. Recognition flooded through Carlton's system along with feelings akin to being punched repeatedly in the stomach. He'd been expected something sure, but not this. Cause of death was fairly obvious judging from the bullet hole right above the left eye. Carlton knew that wasn't any hope for him now but the least he could do was make sure this filthy trunk wasn't his final resting place and maybe give his family some semblance of closure. Struggling to hold onto the body, Carlton kicked off the bottom and shot towards the surface.

Juliet was officially freaking out. It had been far too long since Carlton disappeared beneath the surface for the second time. She should go in after him. Back up was on its way, she could already hear the faint sounds of sirens in the distance signaling their arrival, and it was fairly obvious the two perps weren't going anywhere besides the morgue anytime soon. Decision made, Juliet slid off her shoes and prepared to dive into the water. Just before she could take the plunge, however, her partner bobbed up to the surface. Juliet began to release the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding until she saw that her partner was struggling to hold onto a body he had obviously found in the trunk of the Toyota.

"Carlton grab my hand. I'll help pull you out." Juliet reached out her hand towards her partner.

"No. Just stay back O'Hara. I got this." So what Carlton wasn't even going to let her help anymore. Well screw that. He needed help whether he would admit it or not. Juliet jumped off the dock and into the water.

"Just let me help you Carlton." Something undetectable flashed through his eyes as she reached out to help shoulder the body. From the dock she hadn't been able to make out any of the features of the person Carlton had pulled from the car other than it was most likely a male judging by the short hair. From this angle though she could see everything. Juliet promptly turned and lost everything she had eaten for the past week in the water.

"Damn it. O'Hara." Juliet could vaguely hear her partner call out to her as her body lost all feeling. She couldn't answer him though. She couldn't even move. Juliet knew she was probably going into shock, but she didn't care. His face kept flashing through her mind. She was pretty sure she whispered his name before the darkness clouded over her eyes and she fell beneath the surface of the water. Shawn.


End file.
